Sandusky requests copies of grand jury testimony

BELLEFONTE, Pa. – Jerry Sandusky wants copies of secret grand jury testimony, the phone numbers of his accusers and other material to help the former Penn State assistant coach prepare for trial on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, according to court motions filed by his lawyers.

A 37-page pretrial discovery motion filed late Monday sought dozens of records from the state attorney general's office, including subpoenas, photos, unredacted passages of blacked-out documents already provided to the defense, investigative notes and psychiatric records.

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Sandusky lawyer Joe Amendola asked for records related to specific young men identified in grand jury reports as Sandusky's victims. Amendola said he was given the names of eight of the 10 alleged victims late last week.

A request contained in the latest filings concerns an interview with a former Centre County deputy prosecutor who has said little publicly about the role she may have played in the decision not to prosecute Sandusky more than a decade ago, after a mother complained about contact between Sandusky and her son in a university football team shower.

A state police report, Amendola wrote, "describes an interview with Karen Arnold, a former assistant district attorney of Centre County, wherein she and former District Attorney Ray Gricar had extensive disagreements over a 1998 police investigation regarding the defendant." Gricar disappeared in April 2005 and was declared legally dead last year.

Sandusky, 68, wants the phone numbers of his accusers so he can obtain their phone records.

"In many cases, (Sandusky) believes the accusers may have collaborated with each other in making these false accusations," Amendola wrote.

Messages seeking comment from the attorney general's office were left by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The motion to compel discovery asks for a list of all witnesses and a narrative of what they are expected to say on the stand.

It also asks for the names of anyone who came forward as a potential victim "but for various reason(s) did not fit the commonwealth's profile and/or the report was deemed to be false," Amendola said.

Amendola acknowledged that state criminal trial rules only require the attorney general's office to provide transcripts of prior testimony of witnesses after they have taken the stand at trial and been questioned by prosecutors.

"The defendant submits his trial in these cases will be repeatedly interrupted for extended periods if lengthy and multiple transcripts of the grand jury testimony of each witness called by the commonwealth are provided to the defendant and his attorneys only at the conclusion of the testimony of each witness," Amendola wrote.

He also asked for a copy of an interview with former football coach Joe Paterno, who died last month.

Amendola said he is opposed to a request by prosecutors to bring in a jury from outside Centre County to hear the case. He said he would file his formal response on that issue later this week.

A hearing scheduled for Friday in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte is expected to address Sandusky's demand for more details about the allegations against him as well as his request to modify his bail conditions so he can have contact with his grandchildren.

A former longtime Penn State defensive assistant coach, Sandusky has been charged with 52 criminal counts for alleged sexual abuse of boys. He has denied the allegations and is out on bail, being monitored at his home, while he awaits trial.

The scandal resulted in the ousting of Paterno and school President Graham Spanier. Athletic Director Tim Curley was placed on administrative leave, and Vice President Gary Schultz, who was in charge of the university's police department, stepped down.

Schultz and Curley are charged with lying to the grand jury and failure to report to police. They maintain their innocence.